Police detain Vatal Nagaraj for protesting against IPS officers' suspension, govt. handling of stampede
The Vidhana Soudha police on Tuesday detained Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj after he, along with his supporters, marched to the Raj Bhavan protesting against the government's handling of the stampede case.
Mr. Nagaraj walked to the Raj Bhavan along with his supporters but was stopped by the police and taken to the station from where he was released later. He demanded that the government increase the compensation for the victims to ₹5 crore, and condemned the government's decision to suspend police officials.
'The permission to celebrate both at the Vidhana Soudha and at the stadium was granted by the government. I want to ask them, before deciding on the celebrations, did you consult the senior police officers – no you didn't. You should be the one to take the responsibility for this,' Mr. Nagaraj said.
The fact that the Police Commissioner was suspended for no fault of his was disrespectful, he alleged. 'The Home Minister won't resign and I won't ask for it. But by suspending an honest Police Commissioner, you have led to a drop in the morale of the State's police force. What about the role of the responsible IAS officers? I thought you [Siddaramaiah] instead of suspending the Police Commissioner, would remove at least three of your responsible Ministers. If you had done this, you would've been remembered in the history,' he said.
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